Alan Koch: Cattleyas 365, 24/7 June 18 2020

[Roberta]

Thanks!

[isurus79]

Too cool! We've been doing Zoom calls and haven't tried FB meetings yet. I'll try to attend.

[estación seca]

As I write it is 4 pm in Arizona. Our club's meeting begins in 2 hours and 45 minutes.

[Roberta]

On calendar!

[isurus79]

Says its cancelled?

[Roberta]

The April meeting was cancelled... but I can't get into the Facebook Live feed... must be restricted to the group. Hopefully, the video will be posted after the meeting, I can see the video area including the Fred Clarke one from awhile back.

[estación seca]

We are about to start the broadcast. Try again. The first part was the business meeting. It should be on now.

[Roberta]

Gottit

[isurus79]

I see it!

[estación seca]

There was a very large amount of information presented, mostly on growing smaller Cattleya species and hybrids that do well in the house. I took a lot of notes. I will try to write them up into something readable.

For now, I'll add a few brief things.

After fertilizing, as much as can be absorbed is done so within 20-25 minutes. For plants sensitive to pure water, water thoroughly with pure water (RO, rain or distilled) about 25 minutes after fertilizing. This would include Dendrobium cuthbertsonii and Cattleya (Sophronitis) cinnibarina and any other salt-sensitive orchids, like pleurothallids.

Rupicolous Laelias - rsbarata, hope you're reading. He has been growing them in tight clay pots with aquarium gravel, and a layer of sphagnum moss on the surface, to mimic the leaf litter in habitat. He said to promote flowering, if there is no risk of frost, mist them in the evening only during the winter, so evaporation will drop the temperature. Low winter temperatures are important for flowering. His suggestion to mist in the evening in winter helped some Hawaii growers to get them to flower. He has recently been trying them mounted, and finds they grow extremely well this way. [Remember, he has humid greenhouses.] Rupicolous Laelias used in hybridization produce very saturated lip colors; very tidy upright growth habit; and clusters of starry flowers. The next generation of hybrids can be bred to have flowers with much wider petals and sepals, while retaining the good growth form.

Alan uses 7 different potting mixes so he can water all 200,000 plants once per week. He uses a fertilizer custom-formulated for his water. He has to buy an enormous amount at one time to get this service from the fertilizer company. He strongly recommends learning how to mix the water you are using plus fertilizer, and adjust pH, to get the proper pH of the solution running out of the bottom of your plants. He said not to use vinegar for pH adjustment if you grow in bark, since it degrades bark very rapidly. He recommended citric acid or pH lowering products from the hardware store. [I grow mostly in LECA; he mentioned later it is OK to use vinegar to lower pH when growing in non-bark media or plants in the ground. He said there are a lot of cheaper alternatives to vinegar to lower pH.]

Hybrids involving Cattleya luteola and Cattleya (old Laelia) alaorii will grow and flower happily in 400 footcandles of light, less than needed to keep Phals happy. Some clones of C. luteola flower up to 7 times a year in low light. C. Beaufort and its progeny are in this group. They flower much better in these lower-light conditions than in higher-light conditions. And if you're keeping your Cattleya aclandiae plants (and hybrids) in enough light to get red spots, move them to lower light. When they don't have red spots they flower far better.

He said he waters his C. walkerianas once a week. They are twig epiphytes or lithophytes. They will flower spring and fall at lower latitudes, like Los Angeles (around 33 degrees N), but only fall at Sacramento's latitude (38.5 degrees N.) He measured rock temperatures at 110 F / 43C in habitat, and the plant's roots were attached to those rocks. [Note this contradicts advice from catwalker808 here on Orchid Board, and Alan knows the people in Hawaii.]

I asked about Dendrobium cuthbertsonii. He said he grows it in sphagnum moss in clay pots, for evaporative cooling, and waters with reverse osmosis water after each fertilizing. Pure water is extremely important for this plant. He recently got an AM/AOS on a Den. cuthbertsonii.

I will also mention he suggests, if using pots, growing any orchids with photosynthetic roots in clear pots with large chunk medium. That includes all Catts and Phals. The plants that need to dry out very rapidly (C. walkeriana, C. aclandiae, Podangis dactyloceras! and others) he suggests clear pots and wine corks for medium. I need to get to work finding some medium for my seedling C. walkeriana. Excuse me (pop.)

C. intermedia has survived a night at 17 F / -8.3C. All the cymbidiums in that house died. It handles temperatures above 110 F / 44C. [Mine here in Phoenix was undamaged at 116 F / 47C, as was Laelia purpurata and a lot more plants.] It grows from fairly deep shade to full sun in sand on hot beaches in its native Brazil. It is the easiest Cattleya species to grow.

Cattleya percivaliana does well potted tightly. Don't divide it. If well cared for, good plants will make 3-4 new growth periods per season, and each pseudoulb will push at least 2 new growths per period. They will wait to flower until midwinter, Christmas time in the Northern Hemisphere. A well-grown plant in an 8" / 20cm pot will have made enough growths to produce 100 flowers at bloom time.

Coerulea forms of Cattleyas almost always have the most scent of that species of hybrid.

As to what I bought... just a few things:

Brassocattleya binosa - the newest leaf and very early sheath snapped off as I was removing it from the bag at home. I will punish the bag by using it to pick up dog land mines.

Cattleya intermedia (4N x var. punctata coerulea)

C. percivaliana 'Summit' FCC/AOS

C. Lake Tahoe 'Blue Sky'

C. Floralia's Azul x C. pumila v. coerulea 'Dona Rosina'

Phalaenopsis Chang Maw Jade - a white with green edging, fragrant bellina type hybrid. In flower with another spike on the way.

Pleurothallis (Acianthera) sarracenia - in moss in a small clay pot. It was fairly dry. There is not a trace of minerals on the pot, and the plant has obviously been in the pot for some time. I watered it with distilled water, let it drain and put it into a jar. Alan said he had some for sale because an employee divided his large plant. He thought my growing it in a jar with no direct sun would work.

Renantanda Sunrise 'Prasongs' AM/AOS - Neofinetia falcata x Renanthera imschootiana primary hybrid. Not a large grower. Alan says his old plant has been in constant flower for many years.